At least it's getting more economical in Britain. Running costs for cars have increased only 3%, while trains are up 6% and buses up 13%.

Car maintenance costs have dropped 8 percent to 273 pounds per year in the past 12 months while the real cost of fuel consumption has declined 10 percent.

"It's good news that the day-to-day costs of motoring are in decline, which will help to relieve some of the burden of running a car," he said.

"However, with both bus and train fares continuing to rise, and with growing congestion making journey times unreliable on our roads, the fall in car running costs is unlikely to help government in its attempts to persuade motorists to make greater use of public transport.

It doesn't seem like the article takes into account the cost per person, but I may have read it wrong. If more people use public transport, the cost should come down, in theory. However, if there were to be a sudden influx of 50% or more, it may have the opposite effect. More trains, more buses in service, more fuel, more maintenance on both vehicles and roads/rails.

But, the environmental benefits of public transport greatly out weigh the economic benefits in my opinion.